Australian Capital Territory

government contractual debts (interest) act 1994
This consolidation has been prepared by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel’s Office
Reprinted as at 31 March 1999
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section
	1.	Short title
	2.	Commencement
	3.	Interpretation
	4.	Exclusion of application of Act
	5.	Reporting of excluded contracts
	6.	When a commercial account is payable
	7.	Interest on unpaid accounts
	8.	Exclusion of inconsistent contractual terms
	9.	Availability of funds to pay interest
	10.	Payments by mail
	11.	Discounts for prompt payments

An Act relating to interest accruing on debts arising under certain contracts entered into by the Territory and Territory authorities
1.	Short title
	This Act may be cited as the Government Contractual Debts (Interest) Act 1994.1

2. 	Commencement
	This Act commences on the day on which it is notified in the Gazette.
3. 	Interpretation
	In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—
“agency” means an administrative unit of the public service;
“commercial account” means an account rendered to the Territory or a Territory authority, after the commencement of this Act, that requests payment of moneys in respect of—
	(a)	the provision of goods or services; or
	(b)	the execution of works;
under a contract to which this Act applies and includes such an account that requests payment of moneys by way of—
	(c)	deposit;
	(d)	part payment;
	(e)	instalment payment; or
	(f)	bond or other refundable moneys;
“contract” includes agreement, arrangement or understanding;
“due date”, in relation to a commercial account, means the twenty-fifth day of the month next following the month in which the account is to be taken to be payable in accordance with section 6;
“month” means a month of the year;
“Territory authority” means—
	(a)	a body, whether incorporated or not, established by or under an Act, other than—
	(i)	a society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act 1939; or
	(ii)	an incorporated association; or
	(b)	a company over which the Territory or another Territory authority is in a position to exercise control, other than a company specified in Schedule 1 to the Territory Owned Corporations Act 1990.
4. 	Exclusion of application of Act
(1) 	This Act applies to a contract entered into by the Territory or a Territory authority, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, other than a specified contract that provides that this Act does not apply to it.
(2) 	In this section—
“specified contract” means a contract under which the consideration payable by the Territory or a Territory authority equals or exceeds the amount of $10,000.
5. 	Reporting of excluded contracts
(1) 	An administrative head and a Territory authority shall state, in an annual report in respect of a period that ends after the commencement of this Act, the number of contracts to which this Act does not apply by virtue of section 4 that have been entered into by the agency under the control of the administrative head or the authority, as the case requires.
(2) 	In this section—
“administrative head” means the Head of Administration or an Associate Head of Administration.
6. 	When a commercial account is payable
	Where a commercial account is payable by the Territory or a Territory authority, for the purpose of the ascertainment of the due date in relation to that account, the account shall be taken to be payable—
	(a)	if the contract in pursuance of which the account is rendered includes a provision for determining when the account is payable—on the day ascertained in accordance with that provision; or
	(b)	in any other case—on the day on which the account is received by the agency by which it is payable on behalf of the Territory or the Territory authority, as the case requires.
7. 	Interest on unpaid accounts
(1) 	Where the Territory or a Territory authority fails to pay a commercial account in full by the due date, it is liable to pay to the creditor a further amount by way of interest ascertained in accordance with this section on so much of the account as remains from time to time unpaid.
(2) 	Interest payable under this section in respect of a commercial account—
	(a)	accrues from the due date; and
	(b)	shall be calculated at the rate fixed under the Supreme Court Rules for the purposes of section 70 of the Supreme Court Act 1933 as if—
	(i)	the unpaid amount of the commercial account were payable under a judgment of the Supreme Court; and
	(ii)	the due date of the account were the date on which the judgment had been given.
(3) 	Subsection (2) does not operate so as to make the Territory or a Territory authority liable to pay interest on interest.
8. 	Exclusion of inconsistent contractual terms
	A term in a contract to which this Act applies that—
	(a)	excludes the application of this Act to the contract; or
	(b)	provides for the payment of interest on an unpaid account that has been rendered under the contract;
is void.
9. 	Availability of funds to pay interest
(1) 	Interest for which the Territory is liable under section 7 is payable whether or not there is an appropriation available for the purpose.
(2) 	Where a commercial account is payable out of trust moneys standing to the credit of a bank account maintained under section 51 of the Financial Management Act 1996, any interest payable under section 7 in respect of that commercial account is also payable out of those moneys.
10. 	Payments by mail
	For the purposes of this Act, where the payment of an amount in respect of which a commercial account has been rendered is remitted by mail, the payment is to be taken to be made when it is posted.
11. 	Discounts for prompt payments
	A contract for the provision of goods or services to, or the execution of works for, the Territory or a Territory authority shall not be entered into unless—
	(a)	the person entering into it on behalf of the Territory; or
	(b)	the Territory authority;
as the case requires, is satisfied on reasonable grounds that—
	(c)	the best discount that can reasonably be obtained for the prompt payment of a commercial account rendered under that contract is available to the Territory or Territory authority; or
	(d)	where no such discount is available—that reasonable commercial negotiations would not result in the availability of such a discount.

NOTES
1.	The Government Contractual Debts (Interest) Act 1994 in this reprint is Act No. 107, 1994 amended as indicated in the Tables below.
2.	The Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 (No. 51, 1996) authorises the Parliamentary Counsel in preparing a law for republication, to make certain editorial and other formal amendments in accordance with current legislative drafting practice.  The amendments do not change the law.  Amendments made under the Act do not appear in the Table of Amendments but details may be obtained on request from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.
Table of Acts
Act	Number  
and year	Date of 
notification 
in Gazette	Date of 
commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions	

Government Contractual Debts (Interest) Act 1994	107, 1994	22 Dec 1994	22 Dec 1994		
Financial Management and Audit (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Act 1996
	26, 1996	1 July 1996	1 July 1996	—	

Table of Amendments
ad. = added or inserted      am. = amended     rep. = repealed      rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision	How affected

S. 9	rs. No. 26, 1996

Government Contractual Debts (Interest) 
Act 1994
 (Changes undertaken pursuant to the Legislation (Republication) Act 1996)

Provision	Approved alteration	Date	
S. 3 def “agency”	“Public Service” to “public service”	7/4/99	
		“